Everyone knows it's cheaper for a renter to rent than for a buyer to buy, at least in the beginning. So what are the factors that motivate buyers to show up at the closing table?

Last week we looked at three primary reasons. You could call the first one the American dream or simply a deep desire to own a piece of the rock. At the end of the day, owners hope to experience financial success.

A 2001 survey of homeowners by the National Association of Realtors brought few surprises. It found that:

• Three out of four homeowners considered equity in their homes a large portion of their wealth.

• Being able to access that equity influenced them during important financial moves.

• Those with substantial home equity sometimes changed their spending or savings based on that equity.

Typically, we think of real estate as a non-liquid investment, meaning it's usually hard to get your money out in a hurry. But with the popularity of today's home equity lines of credit, the owner simply writes a check against his or her credit line. The funds are advanced automatically.

The interest costs for such an advance on equity are typically low compared with other forms of credit. Often tied to the prime interest rate, these so-called home equity lines of credit sometimes even have no closing costs.

The survey revealed that home equity is used by owners to get cash for emergencies, take vacations and buy big-ticket items such as furniture, appliances and cars. In addition, equity is used for down payments when buying the next home.

The survey shows the typical homeowner has built up $50,000 in equity. Households with incomes of more than $75,000 typically have a median of $100,000 in equity while households earning less than $40,000 have a median of $40,000 in equity. Households with owners 50 or older have a median equity of $80,000.

In what might be a reflection of the rocky performance of Wall Street in recent years, three out of four homeowners in the survey said their house wealth was greater than their stock wealth. The good news here is that real estate tends to be a stable investment, which gives people the confidence to use it for a variety of needs.

About half of the nation's homeowners tap into equity by way of home equity loans or second mortgages. Of those that used this method, 43 percent used it largely for debt relief while 16 percent used it for a down payment on a second home or vacation home. Eleven percent bought a car, 5 percent used it to help pay for a college education, and 5 percent made deposits in bank accounts.

There is another way to get funds from equity, and that is through refinancing. As interest rates fell over the past few years, many owners pulled cash out and got new mortgages.

The final way of getting cash from equity was at the closing table.

By far, Americans choose to reinvest in real estate with their profits when they sell. Two out of three who sold and replaced their homes used all the profits for the down payment on their next home, and 10 percent put at least a share into their new home. Only 15 percent of repeat buyers did not use the gain for the down payment on their next home.

We can draw this conclusion:

• For most Americans, a home represents a significant and stable part of a nest egg and allows many to take advantage of other opportunities.

• For owners in Atlanta, the equity ride will probably continue. Figures released recently by NAR show that the median home price in the United States was more than $183,000 while Atlanta's median was a good deal at $156,800. That means there's no overheating here.

Next week: Is "pride of ownership" just a real estate sales gimmick?

John Adams is a broker and investor. His Web site is www.money99.com.